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Original poster

LeapPad - Anyone got one?

26 replies

VJR · 07/11/2002 21:05

Does anyone have a LeapPad? I am thinking of buying 5yr old DS one for Christmas and wondered if anyone had any experience of them. Ds is desperate to learn to read and is in the early stages of learnig - ie: recognises small words, knows all phonetics etc. and I wondered if they were actually helpful or if it would be one of those things that gets put on the shelf after a couple of weeks.

Any advice appreciated

OP posts:
emsiewill · 07/11/2002 22:32

I have one, and actually asked the same question earlier this year. The thread is here . We did buy one in the end, and I have to say that is isn't something that dd1 uses regularly, but then she is making quite good headway with reading anyway. One thing it has been good for is car journeys. The "books" can be quite expensive - there are some for £6, but even to me they look quite dull - the interesting ones all seem to be around the £12 mark, which puts them out of the "let's buy you something for being good today" range. (In my house, anyway)

anoushka · 09/11/2002 20:43

well i got my son the leappad book and i think it the best money i ever spent i can praise it higly enough my son has been using it regularly and i am still suprised it seems to have a vast memory bank i have see books that are very basic but each page on the book and it seems that you can get some sound off things like my son loves the sound it make when you touch a fridge and it goes brrrrr and there is so much you can do it plays games like the alphabet they leave out some letters and you fill them in there even is a music page and you press a instrument and it playes a certian tune and even beter you can play two instruments together i was thinking of getting it for my nephew for christmas if it had one down side the books have a ring binder which is difficult if a page gets torn or just worn if you phone up there help line they will replace the book in the concole once free of charge so you can see i am a fan i recommend you go to a toy shop and play with it you will be suprised all it can do

missdilema · 09/11/2002 21:21

Great guys think we will buy one for dd this xmas.But they are quite expensive I've seen one for 34pounds.Can anyone beat that?

emsiewill · 09/11/2002 22:20

I'm pretty sure we didn't pay more than £29.99 for ours - bought it at ELC

Original poster
VJR · 13/11/2002 13:27

I think they are £35 at the ELC. I have been looking around and haven't really found them much cheaper. Still undecided about getting one although anoushka's praise has certainly made me more interested. Will check the other thread (thanks emiswell) and let you know

OP posts:
Tinker · 13/11/2002 13:46

I think they are still £29.99 in Woolies

missdilema · 14/11/2002 13:34

Folks,there's a whole programme on them on QVC today at 3.

pamina · 14/11/2002 13:40

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

monkey · 14/11/2002 14:14

What age child are they for?

anoushka · 14/11/2002 16:59

well i got my son his one about two years ago and he was five but i think you can start them from about four it is used as a preschool help with teaching the child to read and how letters are sounded to form words so if your child is intrested earler that about four then i would get it they make learning fun do you think i should work for the company i praise it so much hope this helps

missdilema · 26/11/2002 16:19

ELC is by far the best deal I've found.35 +a free book worth 12 pound.Get one of the catalogues in store and you can use the voucher in there for money off as well.

Kathleen · 26/11/2002 16:45

I bought one today BEFORE I read this thread. Duh!!! Anyway, it was good value on index.com as it was £29.99 but with a further 9% off. They had emailed me a message to enter the code XX082 and get a further 10% off my order if it was over £50 and free postage. Not that I'm telling anyone to use this code.....

anoushka · 26/11/2002 19:35

i got a offer i tought was good in index they had a offer you buy three books for seventeen pounds and you get a free bag to keep your leap pad and up to four books they dont let you choose what books they are the stage one books but i found the bag great because if you have a few books it keeps them all together and you dont lose the cartridge to go with the books

emsiewill · 26/11/2002 21:06

Yes, anoushka - I've asked my dad to buy dd the bag & books - mainly for the bag, as it's hard to find a bag that fits the Leap Pad. Has anyone seen the "desk/activity centre" type thing? Seems quite good - any opinions?

Rhiannon · 26/11/2002 21:22

Go to littlewoodsextra.co.uk. With the promotional code ZQ977 you can get £15 off an order over £30. They have Leap Frogs for £34.75 and packs of 3 books for £17.99.

WideWebWitch · 03/12/2002 00:01

I think I'm going to get one of these but should I get the Leap Pad or my first Leap Pad? They're different things right? Do the books for one fit the other etc? Ds is 5. Thanks for that code Rhiannon, works in Littlewoods so will use that if I do decide to go for it tomorrow.

emsiewill · 03/12/2002 00:03

No, No, NO Don't do it.
Get the "my first Leap Pad" that is. As far as I can see, it's just a way to make you spend more money - especially for a 5 year old I would definately say go for the "real" thing.
While I'm on this thread, has anyone got the Leap Pad desk?

sprout · 03/12/2002 08:12

OK, so I'm ignorant and live on the moon, but WHAT IS a LeapPad???

Enid · 03/12/2002 08:35

I have just bought My First Leap Pad for dd1 who is 3 - I am a bad mum as I am sick of having to follow words with my finger when I read to her

tigermoth · 04/12/2002 10:41

is 'my first leap pad' suitable for most three year olds? my son likes story books and loves pushing buttons that make noises, cause and effect yes, but no interest in the alphabet or written words yet. Should I wait and buy him a leap pad in a year or so?

WideWebWitch · 04/12/2002 11:04

tigermoth I had a look at one (first leap pad) in ELC and then bought the older one on emieswill's advice (with £15 off on Rhiannon's advice, fab!) but I reckon the first one would be good for a 3yo, quite exciting looking, makes noises etc so like a really exciting story book.

tigermoth · 04/12/2002 13:47

I think I'll toddle along to the elc with the three year old to see what he makes of it. I'm a firm believer in trying before you buy.

Bitty · 19/01/2003 16:12

After checking out the first 'Leap Pad' I'm actually going to hang on a few months and buy the big one. I think I'll regret spending the money if I get the first leap pad. Kids seem to develop so fast at that age and if your not careful you end up getting stuff just to put it on one side a couple of months later. I don't think the first leap pad has the capability to develop enough with your child.

miggy · 19/01/2003 17:43

dd1(nearly 4) got leappad from gp for xmas, I asked them to get it as she loved it in the shops. I would say she has used it for about 30mins since! Might be useful in car though. I bought her leap pad desk but shes not too fussed about that either- if your child likes colouring the pictures are a bit too young and letters pronounced by name not phonetically which is a real shame.

Enid · 19/01/2003 17:54

Bitty, I bought dd1 a My First Leap Pad for her third birthday and she loves it. Having checked out a friends 'proper' LeapPad I think it would have been a bit too much. The games are incredibly simple on the First Leap Pad but it really develops their confidence and means that she can sit in the back of the car playing away by herself. The older LeapPad relies too much on reading/spelling whereas the 'baby' one is more games and things.

In short, I'm glad I went for the easier one even if it only lasts a year.

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